China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any country: Report

China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any country in the world and is also believed to have deployed a small number of warheads on missiles during peacetimefor the first time, said a report, on Monday (Jun 17). Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenbergsaid that the alliance is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons amid threats from China and Russia.

China ramps up nuclear arsenal

The estimated size of China’s nuclear arsenal increased from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its annual report.

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As of January 2024, around 2,100 of the deployed warheads were placed in a state of “high operational alert” on ballistic missiles and while nearly all of them belonged to Russia or the United States; China, for the first time is believed to have some warheads in this state too, according to the report.

The group which tracks global security and arms control also found that China may be deploying a small number of warheads on missiles during peacetime and will haveas many intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as either Russia or the US by 2030.

However, the report noted, that Beijing’s stockpile of nuclear warheads is expected to remain much smaller compared to that of Moscow and Washington.

“China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and an associate senior fellow with SIPRI.

However, he noted that Beijing is not alone as “in nearly all of the nuclear-armed states there are either plans or a significant push to increase nuclear forces.”

The nine nuclear-armed states – the US, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel – continued to expand their nuclear arsenals last year, said SIPRI.

There are reportedly a total of 12,121 warheads in the global inventory out of which about 9,585 were in military stockpiles for potential use.

Around 3,904 of those warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft, according to the new SIPRI report.

India focused on longer-range weapons

The report noted that India “slightly expanded” its nuclear arsenal in 2023 and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems.

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SIPRI also found that India “appears to be placing growing emphasis on longer-range weapons, including those capable of reaching targets throughout China.”

As of January 2024, India reportedly has 172 nuclear warheads, up from 164 last year, but has deployed none.

NATO to put nuclear weapons on standby

In an interview with Britain’s Telegraph, on Monday, Stoltenberg said that the US-led alliance is in talks about taking more nuclear weapons out of storage and placing them on standby.

“I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads…but we need to consult on these issues. That’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Stoltenberg.

He added, “Transparency helps to communicate the direct message that we, of course, are a nuclear alliance.”

The NATO chief also noted that while the alliance’s aim is “a world without nuclear weapons,” as long as such weapons exist, it will remain a “nuclear alliance”.

He added that a “world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, and NATO does not, is a more dangerous world.”

(With inputs from agencies)